House Hunting in ... Vancouver

Bright open loft space in Vancouver.Credit
Farah Nosh for The New York Times

A ONE-BEDROOM TWO-BATH APARTMENT WITH HARBOR VIEWS IN THE HISTORIC GASTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD

$998,000

The apartment is in on the seventh floor of the Alexis building, a former industrial building converted to apartments in 1997. Renovated in 2006, it is equipped with a built-in audiovisual system.

The layout is circular, with the entryway giving onto the kitchen and the bedroom, both of which also open into the living and dining space. The space has an open plan, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a waterfront park that faces Vancouver Harbor, the Lions Gate Bridge and the North Shore Mountains.

Interior doors are sliding panels of frosted glass, which let light through even when closed for privacy. The dining room has a built-in gas fireplace, and under-floor heating runs throughout.

Over all, the space is designed for minimal clutter, with discreet storage behind wood or glass panels in the living room, kitchen, dining room and bedroom.

The kitchen stovetop has two gas burners and four electric ones. Upper cabinets are faced with frosted glass and framed in steel; they open vertically on hinges. The lower cabinets are lacquered in an aquamarine color, in keeping with the theme throughout of aquamarine, ivory and brown.

In the master bath, two round sinks with gooseneck faucets and automatic taps face each other on either side of a mirror. The room also has a steam shower and a glass tile mosaic. In the bedroom, a built-in blonde wood bed, side table and desk are included in the sale price.

Gastown, a former industrial area, has become a cultural center, with brick and cobblestone streets, restaurants and shops. Vancouver has abundant opportunities for activities like skiing, sailing and golf. The Vancouver International Airport is half an hour from the apartment on the city’s rapid transit system, which was built for the 2010 winter Olympics.

MARKET OVERVIEW

“We’ve noticed a dip in the demand for downtown condos,” said Andrew Carros, a real estate agent with Sotheby’s International Realty Canada’s Vancouver office, “but it’s a slight correction rather than a downturn.” Mr. Carros theorizes that Vancouver is protected from the worst price fluctuations by geography. It is surrounded by water, mountains, the United States border, and a valley. For that reason, he pointed out, “there’s nowhere for Vancouver to go except up.” The apartment featured here is a good example: the building’s developers combined two old buildings and added four stories on top of them.

Apartment prices in downtown Vancouver average about 800 Canadian dollars per square foot ($752 per square foot, at $0.94 to the Canadian dollar), according to Mr. Carros, but the most exclusive apartments, in the Coal Harbor neighborhood, can go for 2,000 to 2,500 Canadian dollars per square foot. In the Kitsilano and Dunbar neighborhoods, lower-end homes that need work can run 1.1 million Canadian dollars; larger new houses with views can cost up to 4 million.

Although volume has dropped in the Vancouver area in the past year, prices have risen to prerecession levels. Jake Moldowan, the president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, said 7.1 percent fewer apartments and 10.4 percent fewer houses sold this May than in May 2009. Yet figures for June show an 18 percent increase in the average price of houses and an 11 percent increase in the price of apartments over the same period.

WHO BUYS IN VANCOUVER

Historically, the United States dollar’s strength against the Canadian dollar has made Vancouver an attractive place for American second-home-buyers. Recently, however, the currencies have been closer in value, so American buyers are fewer in number, according to Mr. Carros.

There are still significant numbers of Asian buyers. “Vancouver has always had strong ties to the Asian community,” he said, adding that the area also has its share of European buyers.

Not all foreign buyers are looking for homes for their own use. “There are a lot of off-shore investors in Vancouver, people who buy rental properties,” said Derek Christiansen, a Vancouver-based mortgage broker with Home Loans Canada.

BUYING BASICS

In Canada, Mr. Christiansen said, “buyers from the United States are basically treated like local buyers.” He said people should expect to put down 20 percent unless they have a Canadian work visa, in which case they may be able to put down less. Buyers from other countries, on the other hand, will in most cases need to make a larger deposit, usually 35 percent.

The biggest transaction cost is a property transfer tax that varies by province. The taxes differ significantly depending on price and on whether the house is new. In British Columbia, all properties have a transfer tax equal to 1 percent of the first 200,000 Canadian dollars and 2 percent of the balance, Mr. Christiansen said. For the apartment featured here, the tax would be about 19,000 Canadian dollars, according to Mr. Carros.

Taxes on new homes are much higher. On July 1, British Columbia implemented a new tax called the harmonized sales tax, which will add 12 percent to the cost of such homes. The tax replaces a 5 percent sales tax; because it is so new, there is uncertainty about exactly how it will be implemented. Mr. Christiansen predicted that rebates would reduce the sting for some buyers, although rebates may not be available for second homes. Mr. Moldowan said many developers of new apartment buildings were absorbing the cost of the harmonized tax through special promotions.

Legal fees cost roughly 1,000 Canadian dollars, Mr. Christiansen said. Most buyers elect to do a home inspection, which costs 500 to 600 Canadian dollars. An appraisal costs 250 to 300, although this expense is sometimes covered by the lender.

Maintenance is 445 Canadian dollars a month. It covers cleaning and upkeep of the building’s common areas, and expenses related to property management. In 2009, property taxes were 2,922 Canadian dollars.